Familiar Stranger
by UseTheForce3434
Summary: Kairi and Sora's relationship has started to lose its magic. When the summer begins Kairi has hopes of recapturing it, but the romantic summer she had in mind is going to change when she is sent to Twilight Town to spend the summer with her dad. Roxiri.
1. Prologue

True love. It's what every girl wants. To find the boy of her dreams and fall in love then live happily ever after. At least that's what we believe from Disney movies. When I met Sora I truly thought I had found my prince charming. He was cute, sweet, charming, and athletic, not to mention we had a LOT in common, and to top it off he liked me. So yeah it's your basic "boy meets girl" story. We had been dating for one year and three months since April 3rd of freshman year. And I know that I should've been happy, but. . .I wasn't. I know I know! We were perfect in every way and we _were_ happy for a long time, nine months actually. But sometimes things just don't work out. People change and so do their feelings. I guess the problems started my sophomore year at Destiny Prep.

When school, started in September we had one class together as well as lunch and I always saw him every morning while we waited outside to be let into school. And every weekend we would go on dates to the movies or some restaurant or sometimes just hang out at each other's houses. At that, spending time together wasn't the issue. Sora was a complete man-whore. He _LOVED _girls. If you had an ounce of estrogen in you, he was all over you. Well not literally of course but you get the idea. But Sora _was _popular, so it was sort of expected, but he just _had_ to be friends with _every_ girl. And they flirted with him, and sometimes he would flirt back. It was ridiculous! I'll be honest, it annoyed the hell out of me, but I tried my best to ignore it. After all it was his nature, who he was. So I was able to live with it for a while. . . .until the flirting became a little less innocent.

On November 1st, he admitted to me that he had made out with another girl at a Halloween party the night before. At first I was upset, but not entirely shocked. All I could really think was why would he tell me that? I didn't wanna know. Why did he feel like I needed to know he kissed another girl? But he seemed pretty upset about it, which is why he probably told me in the first place, so he wouldn't feel guilty. After a while I realized that I didn't care. I still liked him and I wasn't going to break up over one mistake. Because despite his flirtatiousness, he was still a pretty loyal and great guy. And after three days of his relentless apologies, he did everything he could think of to make it up to me. He took me to the movies, bought me dinner and flowers and gifts. He even started being more attentive. Well that lasted all of November. Come December, he stopped with all the gifts and extra time. He said he was working really hard to earn enough munny to buy me and his family presents, so I thought nothing of it.

As the months rolled on we spent less and less time together. We had no classes with each other second semester so I only saw him twice a day, in the morning and at lunch. Then soccer season started which took up even more of his time. And there was something else too. He stopped hanging out with me and our friends in the mornings. Not all at once, but like maybe two days out of the school week he would be somewhere else. So on those days I wouldn't even know if he was there. By late March those two days became every day. I swear if it wasn't for lunch I would _never_ see him! I tried confronting him about the situation and how I felt, and it worked. . . .sort of. He did start hanging out in the mornings again, but that was all he did. And when he was there, he just seemed so distant. Like he wanted to be somewhere else.

It stayed that way through the end of school in May, and you have no idea how thankful I was that summer was here. I had hoped we would be able to see more of each other and make up for the time we had lost over the year. But as my luck would have it I didn't get the summer I had wanted. _My _summer that I had planned. My mom arranged for me to spend the whole summer break in Twilight Town with my dad. It most certainly wasn't the summer I had in mind. I didn't plan on spending all summer with my dad. I didn't plan on not seeing Sora again until September. I didn't plan on making new friends. I didn't plan on having a great time. I most certainly didn't plan on meeting _him _or falling in love. And I didn't plan on the effect it would have on my life either. Well I'll be dammed, Forrest Gump was right. Stupid chocolate metaphor. I'm supposing that I've sort of lost you by now, so I'll explain things a bit more clearly. I'll start back when the summer began. The day I left for Twilight Town.


	2. First Impressions

It was around 12:30 when my plane landed in Twilight Town airport. It was an extremely long and quiet flight. And yet 6 and a half hours with near silence wasn't too bad. I brought a book to read as well as my lap top and iPod (as well as other electronic devices in my room) for entertainment. Only 97 people were on board. My guess was that this was the most people that would ever visit all year.

It wasn't too hard to spot my dad holding a large sign that read "Kairi" in big pink letters. There really wasn't any need for it in this ghost town of an airport, but none-the-less I smiled at the gesture. He was excited about my visit. "Hey dad." I said and gave him a hug. "Hey baby. Wow you got taller since I last saw you. But you're still a munchkin." I smiled, "I'm not a munchkin! I'm just fun sized. Like candy." "And just as sweet." He gave me a fatherly smile to accent his dorkish comment. "Daaaaaad! Come on, not in public!" We were off to a good start so far. And for a moment it felt like nothing had changed. Like things were like how they used to be. And I knew it would be like this for the rest of the summer.

The drive to my dad's house from the airport is about 20 minutes. He lived near Sunset Hill which was only a small train ride from town. This was very convenient, considering that I was in need of a job. No way was about to turn into some moocher who lived off her dad. Plus I didn't want to deal with and Q&A time about the things I wanted to buy. So once I got all my stuff situated in my room ( I didn't even bother to unpack) I headed toward Sunset Hill to the train stop.

The thing I loved most about this town was the scenery, an endless sunset (except at night of course). The whole place was simply gorgeous, and every time I was here I always got the sudden inspiration to paint. As if I could capture the beauty of Twilight Town on paper. I even bought a paint set a while back when I was here, but I never used it. I never knew where to begin. It definitely took my mind off Sora. . .or so I thought. Soon as I was on the train I began to feel lonely and my thoughts drifted to Sora. I hadn't even called him yet! Geez, some girlfriend I am. I pulled out my phone and began to dial. The phone rang. . .and rang. . . .and rang. . . . .suddenly I was greeted by Sora's voice telling me he wasn't available and blah blah blah unimportant rambling. I waited for the beep and left him my message, "Hey baby it's Kai. I just wanted to let you know that I landed in Twilight Town. Call me when you get this. Love you." I didn't really expect him to answer, but I wish he had. Was that too much to ask? I missed him a lot.

The train pulled into Central Station, halting sharply and pulling me away from my thoughts. I sighed as I made my way through the crowding of people trying to get along their way to their own trains and destinations. Walking along the Station Plaza I felt comfortable and at ease. Even if I wasn't accommodated with many residents, I knew my way around.

I _was_ on my way to Market Street and the Tram Common to look at the "help wanted" boards, but I decided to explore a bit. I found an alley that I either didn't remember seeing before or just never took the time to notice. It seemed like any other back alley I'd seen here. There was an opening, with a large green "3" at the top, to an underground passageway that lead you to various parts through town when you didn't feel like using the train. There was a pathway that lead to the Sandlot. Then there was a black, cast-iron arch and open door. "Well how odd is that?" I said to myself. "So much for location. Who in their right mind would live right in a back alley?" I walked in a little further and saw some cloth that covered up an opening, which I assumed to be a make-shift door or to just block out the sun. I pulled back the curtain and stepped inside. Before I had a chance to get a look at the place I was "greeted" by a masculine and slightly peeved voice. "What do you want? This is _our _spot." When I looked around, I saw 3 kids that looked to be around my age. "Hayner don't be rude!" a small brunette girl reprimanded. I also took note that she was the _only_ girl as well. "Oh I'm sorry! I just wanted to see what was back here. I'd never seen this place before." A pissed off looking, dirty blonde boy spoke in the same annoyed tone as the one that surprised me. "Well now you know. This is _our_ spot." The brunette girl then slapped him on the leg. She then turned to smile at me, "Don't mind him. He just doesn't know how to be nice to other people." The snub earned her an eye roll and disgruntled sigh from Hayner. "My name's Olette by the way."

She seemed nice enough. Far better than Hayner, that's for sure. "I'm Pence. Nice to meet ya." Said a chubby, dark-haired boy.

"And I'm Roxas." I looked at him and was going to say hello, but instead I found myself trailing off mid word and my eyes were fixed on him. He was smiling at me with bright pretty teeth, giving his cerulean eyes a gentle feature. I somehow knew that look. It was so oddly familiar to me. I had seen it with Sora so many times. It was the look I used to know so well when we first started out together. A look I rarely saw anymore.

I was so engaged in my own world I wasn't aware that his smile had faded and his features changed to match his confusion. "Uh are you alright?" he questioned. Realizing that I was making a complete idiot out of myself, it seemed I had to tell the truth. A lie would only make me seem even stranger. Not to mention that I couldn't think of a good one at the time.

"Oh yes I'm fine. It's just that you reminded me of someone I know back home." I tried to keep my voice level, hiding my embarrassment. I could feel the blush creeping up on my face. I slightly bowed my head as a reflex. And to my surprise he started to laugh. Just what was so funny?

"You ok?" I questioned. I really didn't see that one coming.

"I'm good." He breathed. "It was just your reaction. I've never seen anyone get so embarrassed over something so trivial. It was sorta cute."

"Well I'm glad you find humor in my humility."

"Good, then everybody's happy."

I rolled my eyes. He's obviously never heard of sarcasm. I noticed how he still hadn't taken his off me since he first introduced himself. After he had calmed himself he spoke again. "You know you don't have to stand there. You're allowed to sit if you want, or if you don't want to then that's fine too."

"No no, I'll sit." I get the feeling he did that a lot. Made you feel like you had a choice but made you feel guilty if it wasn't what he wanted. Cause I really didn't want to sit or stay very long. But I guess I didn't truly have a choice. I took a seat on a nearby crate. Pence and Olette had the only couch and I _really _didn't want to sit next to Hayner. The only seat available was opposite pence and Olette. They seemed nice enough at least. Pence was the one to start the conversation, "So you're not from around here."

"Well sort of. I would come here and visit my dad sometimes on holidays, and it's been 2 years since I've been back. But I still know my way around."

"Yeah the town is pretty small. It's not too hard to learn the way."

It was Olette's chance to speak, "So you missed your dad and decided to come visit?"

"Not exactly. My mom told me the day after school ended I was going to spend the whole summer here. That was yesterday and today I got on the plane which landed about 2 hours ago."

"Wow so you're here the entire summer?"

"Yeah until 2 days before school starts again." Even I noticed the sadness in my tone, and so did they. But Roxas was the one to comment.

"And you're unhappy." It wasn't a question. It was more like he was making an observation out loud. I was hesitant to reply. I mean I wasn't too thrilled with the idea but I did want to see my dad.

"Well. . .I'm not all that excited about it, but at least I'll get to spend time with my dad. If I didn't see him now, I might not have seen him till I graduated."

"So what's back home that made you so upset about leaving?"

How did he do that? I never mentioned anything to do with home. Did he have ESP or something? Again I had to choose my words carefully. "I didn't want to leave my boyfriend."

Before he could start, Olette cut in. "Well that's understandable. How long have you guys been dating?"

"A little over a year now."

"Wow so you guys are pretty serious huh?"

I chuckled nervously. This wasn't exactly my favorite choice of topic. "Y-yeah I guess so."

Roxas seemed to notice my discomfort (big surprise there) and changed the subject. "So were you on your way someplace else when you dropped in? You didn't seem like you had the intention of staying."

"Oh I had come into town looking for a job. I was on my way to the message board and decided to take a detour." I had totally forgotten about why I even left dad's house in the first place.

"Oh well you need any help? We could put in a good word for you."

"Yeah all the shop keepers are pretty fond of Roxas." Pence suddenly chimed in. He put his hands on Roxas's shoulders and smiled. "He's everyone's favorite customer!"

Roxas smiled sheepishly and playfully pushed pence away and turned to face me again. "So that sound good to you?"

I smiled a genuine smile and nodded.


	3. Hayner's Secret

We walked around town for a while looking at everyone's favorite shops, seeking one that I might like. Surprisingly Hayner came along too, but he didn't exactly talk at all. Not that I minded. He was a bit of a pain. I got a strong feeling that he didn't like me- at all. Although I wasn't sure why. I hadn't even spoken to him! Maybe he really was just an unpleasant person. If that's the case then I don't know how they manage to put up with him.

We were looking around in Mrs. Penyoli's ice cream shop when Hayner made his way to the back of the store, and spoke to me for the first time. The FIRST first time didn't count since he was being rude. He looked around to make sure no one would see him then faced me.

"Hey I'm sorry I've been a jerk. It's just I don't take to kind to strangers. Especially when they come snoopin around the usual spot."

They nicknamed it "the usual spot"? I guess it's a fitting name if that's where they always hang out.

"Have you had trouble with the people that go back there?"

"Yeah. Seifer and his crew have been getting people to spy on us. And once they vandalized our stuff when we were gone for ice cream." He added in a sour tone.

"That's terrible! Who's Seifer?" he sounded like a real prick. And the type of person I should avoid if I could.

"Oh I forgot you haven't been here in a while. He's head of the disciplinary committee. And the biggest douche lord in town. He's more of a vigilante if you wanna get technical. Doesn't go anywhere without his posse either; Rai, Fuu, and Vivi. Vivi's alright, he just kinda follows Seifer. Rai is a bit of a moron and Fuu is pretty fierce, for a girl that is."

Sounds like a bunch of clowns to me. "And they don't like you guys?"

He shook his head, "Nope. Hate us all- especially Roxas."

"Why?" I asked in disbelief. How could anyone hate Roxas? He breathed a deep sigh.

"Cause back in elementary school Roxas was better than Seifer at pretty much everything, and he's obviously nicer. Anyway Seifer sort of considered Roxas as a rival and tried to best him at everything. Well I think in fifth grade Seifer had a crush on a girl in our class that played with us, but as it turned out, _she _had a crush on _Roxas_- surprise surprise!" He chuckled slightly at the memory. "Roxas of course had no interest in girls at 10. But he didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings so he offered to still be her friend. I'm guessing you can already tell who it is?" he questioned.

"Olette." I said knowingly. Now things were starting to make sense.

Hayner continued, "Yep. Seifer didn't take that too well. So he went from being just a rival to an enemy. He only hates us cause we defend Roxas and we're like his best buds." He grinned at the last statement.

I had to ask that burning question I felt like I needed to know, "Does Olette still like Roxas?" I don't know why I had asked in the first place. What did it matter to me if she still liked him….and maybe he liked her. What if they were dating? Who cares? You don't know these people. Plus you have a boyfriend!

"Not as much as she used to, but I think she does to a certain degree." He made a face as he finished. It was more than likely involuntary but not unnoticeable.

I smiled, "you like her don't you." It wasn't a question. I already knew the answer. And at risk of sounding a little smug- it was slightly obvious. Hayner suddenly became very flustered.

"Well I-I didn't say those words exactly b-but…..yeah ok I guess I do." His words were very fast and almost unintelligible.

"so this is kind of like a love triangle. Except your end has two points. You and Seifer like Olette. Olette likes Roxas. Roxas likes…"_ that_ I didn't have an answer to.

"Heh I don't think Roxas really likes anybody. He's never taken an interest in any of the girls in town. He says he doesn't have time for them. But that hasn't stopped the girls from going after him. Roxas is pretty popular around here with guys and girls. Except Seifer and his gang of course."

"What are you two being so secretive about?" Pence had found us.

"Nothing," I replied too quickly. "I was just telling Hayner that I liked this store. I think I want to apply." Ok that wasn't entirely a lie. I _did_ like the place. Maybe it was a little to chilly for my taste but it might turn out to be a lifesaver In this heat. Not to mention an employee discount- all the ice cream I want at half price!

"Cool, I'll let Roxas know."

As he turned to search for Roxas, Hayner and I looked at each other and smiled. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.


	4. Venting

Mrs. Penyoli hired me on the spot. She was in need of help and said that any friend of her best customer could be trusted. She also said that I had an honest face, whatever that means. Pence was right about Roxas. Every store we went to, the owner always welcomed him with a smile and in some places samples of their new product (such as the ice cream store and candy shop). I guess it paid off behind that tattered, old curtain.

It was beginning to get pretty dark when everyone decided to head on home. Hayner, Pence, and Olette all lived in the tram common district, but it was Roxas and I that had to travel all the way back to Sunset Terrace. And that made me kinda happy. Uh that is….uh because I didn't have to go alone! I mean yeah he was really sweet and kinda cute, but I had a boyfriend! A very hot boyfriend as a matter of fact….all the way back in Destiny Islands….who never spent any time with me….and who _still _hadn't called me. Ugh I give up! I just won't talk to him for now. Maybe I can stop obsessing over this now that I have something to keep me busy. My job started Monday, which was in 3 days. And then I also had my new friends as well. I'm sure they'd be enough to keep me distracted.

"Hey, you ok? You're pretty quiet."

A worried looking Roxas had interrupted my inner quarrel. He was staring at me very intensely, as if trying with all his might to figure out what was going through my head.

"Oh I'm fine." I lied. "Just really tired is all. I've had a long day." Now that part was true. After all, I _had _been up since 5:45 this morning. Hearing my own words made me realize just how sleepy I actually was. However, his expression didn't falter. "Is it your boyfriend?"

How the _hell _did he just d that? "Sort of." No point in lying to him when he apparently reads me well. Not to mention I couldn't come up with a convincible lie at the moment. His features relaxed a bit, but he didn't speak. I guess that was my cue to continue. I sighed, "It's a pretty long story."

I honestly didn't wanna discuss this at the moment, and yet at the same time I felt like I needed to vent my distress. I needed someone to complain to. Someone to hear me out and listen to _my _side of the story. But I didn't wanna have to go through the process of explaining and answering all the questions he would have. It would be so much easier if he somehow already knew the details. But he was persistent.

"We've got time. Maybe I'll even be able to help. That is, if you want me to. Sometimes you just really need someone to listen to you and hear you out. I won't even ask questions if that'll help." I looked at him and felt that he meant what he said. Right now, Roxas felt like an old friend to me. A familiar stranger who wanted to do some catching up on how we've been lately. I knew that he was right and that if I told him everything that he would understand and maybe get rid of the heavy feeling that keeping all of this to myself had caused.

I guess I waited too long to reply because he then moved from his seat opposite me, to the one to the left of me. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just wanted to know what was eating at you."

"No it's fine." I said almost too quickly. "I was just trying to figure out where to begin." I guess I might as well start at the beginning again.

Roxas never took his eyes off me while I gave him a re-cap of my relationship with Sora. And instead of making me feel uneasy, like how you would if you were explaining this to your family, I was pretty relaxed and it felt good to finally tell someone else. The only other person that know is my best friend Naminé. He never spoke the entire time.

After I finished pretty much pouring my heart out to him, I heard the sound I had been dreading this whole time- silence. Roxas wasn't looking at me anymore. He had turned to face the empty seats opposite us. I wasn't quite sure when he had done that. I was too busy ranting. He remained in a lull, probably processing everything he had just heard.

After what seemed like an eternity he broke the uncomfortable quietness. "Do you still love him?"

I hadn't expected that. I almost wasn't sure if I even had an answer. Of course I still loved him….but I wasn't sure how much anymore. I started slowly, "Well I mean I _do _love him, but…I don't think I love him as much as I used to. It's hard to say how much you love a person when you barely spend any time with them and things feel different between the two of you."

He nodded, "That seems reasonable enough." He then gave me a sympathetic smile. Ha! As if he knew my angst. Ok maybe that was a little rude. After all, he _did _listen to what I had to say and he _was _trying to help me out. And for all I knew maybe he did understand. I don't know his background.

At last the train rolled to a stop and we walked onto the cobblestone of Sunset Station. Neither of us had anything to say but it was a comfortable quietness. And I strangely felt at ease. Maybe it was because I had just spilled my guts to a near stranger. Roxas was an odd boy. He was earnest, caring, and overly friendly. Not a bad listener either. And there was something about him that I couldn't quite put my finger on. He reminded me of someone I knew. But who in the world did I know that was exactly like Roxas?

**Hello everyone!!!! Sorry that it's been so long since I've posted a chapter! But i've just been busier than you could imagine with so much junk to do with school, family and my social life. But I do hope you enjoy this chapter. I really hate how this site makes all my hard work seem like nothing! this was 3 pages long on Microsoft word!!!! I do have part of chapter 4 written down in my History notebook and am in the process of finishing. I just wrote some new stuff today! Please for updates on this story, old stories as well as upcoming stories, PLEASE visit my profile page. I update that more often than my stories. Please review and tell your friends!!! *~*May the force be with you**


	5. Whatever

That was the best night's sleep I'd had in a LONG time! Last night Roxas walked me all the way home, even though his house comes before mine. I ate dinner with dad and went right to bed. For once when I came home exhausted I was able to fall asleep _and _stay asleep with no problem. And felt pretty rested at that. So far this was a pretty damn good vacation! I went downstairs to see what I could eat, when I found a note from dad.

_**Kairi,**_

_**I'm at work till 7. Be home by 7:30. I'm getting a key made for you so just for today you can come home later than me. Call if you need anything. See you tonight**_

_**Love daddy**_

So I was by myself the _whole _day? Then that means I'll just have to kill time elsewhere. No way was I gonna spend the entire day in here doing nothing! The more I thought about it, I realized that dad worked to a schedule. He'd either be working from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. on some days, and vice versa other days. The times switched after his off days. So I'd probably be by myself a lot sometimes. He really did need to get me a key.

I smiled to myself as I remembered the new friends I had made yesterday. Maybe I could hang with them during the day when dad was working? I fixed myself a bowl of cereal and skipped up the stairs with strange excitement to get ready. Who knew I would actually be enjoying myself here?

* * *

Rummaging through my clothes I picked out a gray _Footloose _tee, some purple shorts, purple converse, and some bracelets I liked. I was about to leave when I spotted my phone and realized that I hadn't checked it since yesterday afternoon. I flipped it open and found 3 unread messages. 2 were from my mom and the other was from my best friend Naminé. At least _one_ of my friends had bothered to text me. My mom was just complaining that I didn't let her know I had made it into Twilight Town safely. I ignored her for now and looked at Naminé's. I had to read it twice and see how this could make sense.

**Hey its Sora. Dont txt me cuz my mom took away my phone cuz im grounded. Srry babe. Hope you landed ok**

Something about this didn't add up. Why would he use Naminé's phone? Why not Riku's or Tidus's? He saw them way more than he saw her. I checked the time—11:42 p.m. What the hell? What are they doing together so late if he's grounded? I pressed the options button, staring at the word "reply" with my thumb ready to press "ok." Then I just shut it and shoved the thing in my shorts pocket. "Screw it." I muttered darkly

* * *

I slammed the front door, walking rather fast through the lawn, and started making my way up the brick road. Seriously, did this town have a _single _sidewalk? I needed to blow off some steam and process what I just read and grasp the situation. I knew Nami and Sora hung out together a lot, but I was always present. It was natural for the best friend and the boyfriend to be close to each other. Y'know, since they had a friend in common. But when did they start seeing each other when I wasn't there? But it's not like they were alone right? Riku and Selphie could've been there as well. And besides, I'm not gonna be there all summer. It's not like they can't hang out or anything just cause I'm not there. I'm just being selfish and paranoid. I gotta have more faith in them. Cause it wasn't Naminé I was worried about. Sora has just been making me nervous about our relationship since we stopped talking. But I needed to be better than this. Things go wrong and I automatically think the worst. Love is far too complicated. I knew that already.

I could see the archway with big brick letters on top that read "Sunset Terrace" in the distance, when I heard someone yell my name. "Kairi! Hey, wait up!"

I turned around and saw Roxas bounding towards me. My heart leaped with joy and a smile tugged at my lips. All previous worries were long forgotten when he stopped in front of me; hands on his knees, head hanging low, with labored breathing. He was wearing dark jeans, black converse, a gray and white checkered dress shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his elbows, and a white T-shirt underneath. I giggled at his winded state.

"And just _what_ is so funny?" he questioned breathlessly.

I laughed, "You. What are you doing running? It's not that far of a walk. I would've waited."

He looked up slightly, "I saw you as soon as I stepped outside. By then you were already here. So I just ran to catch up. And _FYI _miss know-it-all, it's actually a rather long run."

"You need to get in better shape." I teased as I placed a hand on his shoulder and bent my face down to his. "I could run faster than you and _still _not be _that_ worn out."

He laughed and stood up right, shaking off my hand. I did the same in turn. "That sounds like a challenge missy."

"Heh, well maybe it is. Although when I'm up against such a weak opponent I would hardly call it competition."

He pretended to fee offended, "That hurts my pride Kai. Cuts real deep. But it wouldn't matter if you won regardless."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Because that's not a true competition. If we were gonna have a true challenge, it's best to make it a real one."

"And that would be?"

"A struggle."

"Struggle? You mean the thing where you hit each other with foam mallets?"

He grinned, "Yep. It's the perfect test of quickness, agility, endurance, and strength."

I pondered this for a moment, "Hmmmm…. Sounds good to me. You just tell me when and where and I'll be there."

He smiled at my comment and put his arm around my shoulders. "Alright. How about tomorrow in the sandlot? The guys can be the judges."

"You got it bro. You're goin down!"

"Ha! I'd like to see that."

"Oh but you will. Then you'll have to buy me ice cream." We started walking through Sunset Terrace towards the train station.

"What makes you think I'll buy you ice cream??"

"Cause I'll have won." I said matter-of-factly. "The winner always gets a prize."

He thought about this for a moment until coming to a decision. "Fine. The loser, that's you, buys the winner, that's me, ice cream. Deal? And no employee discount."

"No 'favorite customer' discount either. Not like you'll get to use it anyway."

He made a face at my tease. "You're so sure of yourself aren't you?"

"Like you're not?"

"So? I have the right to be."

"Oh what_ever_! How you figure that?"

He smirked, "Cause when you're this awesome, you never have any doubts."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say."

Why was I upset this morning?

_**Yeahhhhh. I know It's been a century since my last update. I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY!!!!!! To all of you guys! I hope you forgive me. But I SWEAR life gets in the way so much. Come one high school kids, you know what I'm talkin about. Things just happen and you can't help but get side tracked. So again I'm really sorry. But please review and check my profile, cause I update that every day. I've had this one in my notebook since December….. tells you how busy I've been. Love all of my wonderful fans! Thanks to **__E Muja EN -KittenThatAteSora-__, __Libranfate__, __The Accident-Prone Klutz__, __Lexicer__, Muja, __AntiSoratheChamp__, and __TinaalovesMints__** for your wonderful reviews! You guys made me smile and it's comments like that that keep me writing **_


	6. The Seven Wonders

Roxas and I continued our journey to the usual spot, bickering all the way. We had moved on from discussing our struggle match to the style of his hair and my height. I mean come on! It looks like he was caught in a windstorm or something. And of course he would comment about my tiny physic. I was sixteen, 4'11, and commonly mistaken for a twelve year old. Not that I'd ever tell him that. And I had already taken notice that he made that fault more apparent whenever he was around me. The boy must've been six feet tall, and yet somehow he seemed to compliment my height as well. Or at least it seemed that way to me. But anyway, we continued to squabble until we reached the usual spot only to find it empty.

"Well that's strange. There's usually at least one of them here." He began to make his way towards the yellow furnace Hayner was sitting on yesterday, while took a seat on Pence and Olette's favorite sofa.

"Maybe we're early?" I suggested. There was a pause but only for a moment. He was holding a piece of notebook paper, his back turned to me.

"No they've gone to work on summer homework. Olette made them do it now so it could be out of the way and they could enjoy the rest of summer without worrying about it. Apparently Hayner and Olette are working together and Pence decided to work alone." He sighed and then turned to sit with me on the couch. "I might as well do it too. Man I really don't want to."

"Well what is it? Maybe I can help." I was curious as to what he had to do. I had never heard of such a thing as summer homework. What kind of monster would do such a thing? Obviously their teachers. He gave a deep sigh and slumped down into his seat, closing his eyes.

"It's like the stupidest thing ever, but we have to write an essay on something we find interesting about Twilight Town. And I have absolutely no clue where to start."

I really wanted to help him out since he did the same for me with my problem. Granted this isn't exactly the same kind of situation, but a problem is a problem no matter how trivial. I tried to think about all the things I knew about Twilight Town, but came up short as well. As silly as it was, all I could truly remember were some ghost stories my dad had told me when I was young. I'm sure it's like the wonders of Twilight Town or something like that.

"Do you know about the wonders of Twilight Town?" I asked.

He looked up from his slouched position to eye me curiously. "No. what are they?"

"Well. . . there are quite a few but they're just kind of like rumors or ghost stories."

He was all ears now. He sat up and waited for me to continue, so I pressed on, "well there's one about a ghost train that runs below Sunset Hill and another about a girl that lives in the old mansion and one more about the cobblestone steps of Sunset Station. That one says that the steps count differently going up and down. I know they're silly but. . ."

Roxas stood up and began searching around the room for something. When he has located a yellow notebook and a pencil, he turned to face me, "Well let's get a move on shall we?"

"Huh?"

"Come one let's go! Let's explore the wonders of Twilight Town."

"But they're just stories. They probably aren't even close to being true."

"Well we won't know unless we investigate will we? Besides, it sounded pretty legit to me. So let's do it!" He seemed pretty excited. A hell of a lot more enthusiastic than I was. But hey, he was happy and I was able to help. A job well done Kairi! And so our journey for the wonders begins.

* * *

"So where do we go first?" Roxas asked brightly.

We were strolling around Station Heights deciding on where to go first.

"Uh I think it might be best to go to Sunset Terrace first. That's where most of the rumors came originated. But I think I should call my dad first, to ask about the rest of the stories." I pulled my phone from my shorts pocket and searched for my daddy's number while we walked toward Sunset Station. Well scratch that. We _were _walking until I started messing with my phone. My pace had slowed to a near halt as i looked through the contacts list. I can't really walk like normal _and _look down/mess with my phone at the same time. I'm just weird like that I guess. I finally found dad's number and proceeded to call. The phone rang and rang and I got nervous that he might not answer, and then this whole plan would've been a complete bust. Until he finally picked up. Thank you God!

"Kairi? What is it?"

"Hi daddy. Um this is gonna sound kinda strange, but do you remember those ghost stories you used to tell me about Twilight Town? The wonders of Twilight Town I think is what you called them."

"Oh you mean the seven wonders of Twilight Town. Well actually when I told them to you, they were just five. But yeah I remember. Why?"

"Well Roxas is doing summer homework on something interesting about Twilight Town, and I suggested writing about the seven wonders. But the thing is that I don't remember all of them. So I was wondering if you still did."

There was a short pause, then he spoke again, "Sure I do. But um Roxas. . . the Strife boy?"

I lowered my voice so Roxas wouldn't hear as easily. Not that it was really necessary since he didn't know what my dad was saying. "Yes dad. We talked about all of that last night." Don't tell me he's freaking out cause I'm spending the day with a boy. He was just saying last night how wonderful Roxas was.

"You guys by yourselves?"

"Yes. The other three are working on their own. But what exactly are the seven wonders? And if you know which part of Twilight Town they come from, that would be great to know as well." I was in a hurry to change the subject from the blonde boy that was standing beside me since I'm sure his ears were burning. Although if he had heard anything, he didn't let on about it. And we needed to get the information quickly so we could get going. Dad cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Uh yes. Well there's the spooky steps of Sunset Station. That's where the steps count differently going up and down. There's the friend from beyond the wall. People have claimed to see bright orbs of light coming from an alley. The moans from the tunnel is a fairly new one I've heard about. People have been hearing strange wailing sounds from the underground concourse. Another new one is the animated bag, and that one is a sack on the top of Sunset Hill that moves and hops around occasionally. The doppelganger gets to a lot of people. They have claimed to have seen their doppelganger at a waterfall." A pause, "Let's see. . . the ghost train was solved. There's one that deals with the woods near the old mansion. That's probably nothing but paranoia, but townspeople claim to feel like they're being watched while walking around in the forest. And the last one is called the lonely girl. It's said that a girl can be seen from the second floor window of the old mansion, despite that it's been abandoned for years." Another pause, "Aaannd. . . that's all of em. And all of em except for the last two are located in Sunset Terrace."

I was relieved that I had us going in the right direction at least. "Thanks so much dad for all your help. I'll see you later tonight ok?"

"Alright Kai, but you two be careful you hear? Don't get into too much trouble."

"We won't dad. I promise."

"Ok. I love you. Bye."

"Love you too. Bye." And that was that. Now we could finally get started on our project! Er, I mean _his _project.

"Well?" he asked once I had placed the cellular device back in my pocket.

"Well now we head over to Sunset Terrace like I said. That's where most of wonders are. The last two all deal with the woods and the old mansion. So we can probably just come back and do those later."

He nodded. "Sounds like a solid plan to me."

Without further hesitation, we headed towards Station Plaza.

* * *

"So these are the spooky steps. Can't believe they count differently up and down. We use them every day without even thinking about this!" Roxas exclaimed. We had just arrived at Sunset Station and already begun the investigation.

"Yep. Really makes you think, huh? Well if it's true that is."

He nodded in agreement.

"So who should count? Me or you?" I asked.

He gave it some thought and came up with a brighter idea. "How about you start up here and count down, and I'll go down there and count up? That way we'll be able to make sure we counted accurately."

I agreed and he rushed down the steps so we could begin. When he had settled, I walked down slowly to count each step aloud, carefully. Coming to the last one, I had a total of sixteen. He then proceeded to ascend the stone steps. Reaching the top he announced that he too had sixteen. I complained, "Well that can't be right. Can it?"

Roxas shrugged, making his way towards me. "It has to be. We each counted aloud and very precisely. Whoever came up with this wonder simply counted wrong."

I was lightly embarrassed. What if all the others turned out to be hoaxes as well? Then I'll have wasted his time for nothing. I desperately hoped I was wrong.

But all my hopes were in vain. There was a completely logical explanation for every single story we investigated. The friend from beyond the wall was just a kid playing with a ball. The moans from the tunnel were just Vivi (at least I'm sure that's what Roxas said his name was) practicing his struggle technique. The doppelganger was just a reflection, and the animated bag was a stray dog that got trapped in a burlap sack. Every single one was just as lame as the last. I groaned in defeat once we were back on the train. We were going back to the Tram Common district to check out the last two stories. Which were probably going to be stupid just like the others.

"This really bites. I'm not being any help to you at all. I can already see the content of your paper. 'The rumors were bogus. The end.'"

"It can still be good if I write about all the hard work we did. Or I can just write about how cool the stories are instead of the actual investigation of them. Either way is pretty good."

Oh please! Didn't he get it? I was wasting his day on something that was now incredibly pointless, and he didn't even mind. And even now he's trying to humor me with these ideas to mask my failure. Couldn't he see that I didn't want him to just settle for my stupid idea and make it better? I had really wanted to help him with this problem like he had done for me and I couldn't even do that. Summer homework blows.

He sensed my inner anguish and attempted to raise my spirits. "Hey, come on it's not a total loss. We still have the last two wonders to investigate. We could find something pretty interesting about them. You never know."

I shook my head in stubbornness against his attempt to make this situation better and in disbelief at how positive he had remained. It was an admirable trait that I wished I had. I mean I'm pretty optimistic sometimes, but usually a pessimist. Well pessimist is the word that's been given to me. I prefer "realist." And if I am a pessimist then it's because life has made me that way. "It's amazing how optimistic you are. There's never a down side is there? Everything always has a frickin silver lining." I instantly regretted having uttered those words when I realized they came out sounding more irritated rather than shocked. Which is what I had been going for. His smile sagged a little, to a near frown. He didn't try to fix it either.

Roxas couldn't hide his emotions from Kairi. He tried not to think about when those exact words had been said to him before, and when he had said something likewise himself. He didn't want to remember any of this right now. What if he started to cry like he had done before? That would just be embarrassing. He knew that she didn't mean to hurt his feelings or ignite old one that were within him. She was only irritated that this idea of hers was turning out to be a bust. But still. . . . those words still had the same effect on him now as they did eight years ago.

He spoke with a soft intensity, "Of course there's always a downside. You'd be lying if you claimed not to see it. I'm just a lot happier when I find something better about a situation. If I just focused on the bad side of things all the time I'd be pretty damn miserable all the time. And being miserable doesn't make me better or more special than anyone else. It just makes me miserable."

I sat there in silence without looking at Roxas. I felt awful about what I had said and his response had only wounded me deeper. And being the unobservant person that I am, I wasn't aware that his words had come from somewhere deep within him. I didn't notice that his speech sounded a bit rehearsed, as if he had repeated it so much that he knew it by heart. I didn't know how badly my wounds had cut him; bringing back old, painful memories. But that was only part of it. There was so much I didn't know about this boy, or the dark past he had been trying for years to put behind him.

**huzzah! xD I am very sorry once again at such a late update. I've just had so much goin on these past months. You know the drill: School, life, friends, school, work, holidays, school. I've been really busy and I had also lost inspiration for a while so i was at a haitus. But I really hoped you enjoued this chapter! Cause i had a lot of fun writing it. **

**Please please please review! I worked really hard on this, so i would like some feedback. **

**Ask questions or say what you would like to happen or what you think is going to happen or what you think is wrong with it. Stuff like that. I need your criticism. It's actually very much appreciated :)**

**Thank you to all my fans and people who have favorited, put on alert, and such! And thanks for the 773 hits! I feel so grateful**

**Special thanks to E Muja EN ~KatDatAteSora~, KHgatomon3444, TinaalovesMints, ComicalxMysterious, and ken08002 for your fantabulous reviews!**


	7. At the End of All Things

Sooo guys I know that I've been a pretty horrible updater and writer. And so first off I want to apologize. I'm sorry to those of you who waited forever for me to update only to be disappointed. I'm really, truly sorry guys. I started writing this story in the 10th grade as a way to vent my feeling about an ex boyfriend who had cheated on me. And well when I started to begin a relationship with someone else who I am still with and is absolutely wonderful, I forgot about my frustrations and the hurt I had felt before. I got over it. And so I had lost my reason to write this story. Because I really wasn't angry or sad anymore. And I hope that doesn't make any of you too upset.

Tonight on February 21, 2012 I suddenly got new found inspiration to write. Actually while I was watching Little House on the Prairie. And when I went back to see where I had left off I was very unhappy with what I had written and how lame it sounded. And then I realized that I didn't even remember too much about the story to begin with. So I started from the beginning and I thought that was pretty awful too. I mean yeah I was in the 10th grade, so I suppose my style has changed. So I have decided that I want to start over again and give the story a makeover. Now don't worry, the basic parts will still be the same. I just kind of want to tweak a few things. I hope that you, my faithful readers, will still follow to the next one. I will certainly try to care for this one more than the last one.

And lastly, I want to thank you. All of you. If it weren't for you all, I don't know where I would be. It made me so happy to see that so many people from so many parts of the world took an interest in my story. I never felt more excited. I'm certainly glad that you guys liked or at least were tempted to read my story. And your feedback made me even happier. I'm not one for sappy things but you guys really did give me a reason to write. I felt so bad when I didn't update. Like I was letting you down. And I know that you guys didn't deserve that. So I really do hope you like the new version of the story. It will still have the same title and description, just new and better writing. Or well I think it'll be better, I don't know what you might think. For all I know it could totally suck to you guys. But either way I hope you follow it and let me know your opinion. I have always appreciated it.

So please stick around for Familiar Stranger: The Older Years. Haha

Love, UseTheForce3434

May the force be with you, and live long and prosper.

(sorry. It's the total nerd in me)


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